| Back to News |
Contact: Geneva Global teams with Anyware Mobile Solutions to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa
Deployment of mobile technologies to collect
critical data will speed assistance TULSA, Okla., January 30, 2008 – Geneva Global, the world’s leading international philanthropic advisor (www.genevaglobal.com), recently deployed mobile technologies from Anyware Mobile Solutions to collect HIV/AIDS data in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast. This initial twenty-month deployment represents the first phase in a long-term effort to improve HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Africa under the President’s Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). At a White House ceremony on World AIDS Day 2006, Geneva Global was selected to manage a $12 million fund to address critical HIV/AIDS prevention and care needs in Africa. If current goals are achieved in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast, Geneva Global will use the same model to implement mobility solutions in other African nations afflicted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.Collecting accurate information is the essential first step in any effort to deliver effective, timely HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Unfortunately, whether in developed or developing countries, most data collection is still done using paper forms filled out manually and then carried or shipped back to central offices where staff type the information into databases for later analysis – a slow, labor-intensive, multi-touch process that too often results in recording and transmission errors, lost information, and deficient analyses. “The new Anyware solution will help Geneva Global overcome these obstacles”, says Clint Parr, President and CEO of Anyware Mobile Solutions. “By mobilizing data collection, Geneva Global will be able to improve the quality of information they gather and empower their partner providers to respond more effectively with care, treatment, and prevention to fight HIV/AIDS.” The new mobility solution unites Palm handheld devices with Anyware’s ReForm™ mobile data collection platform, flexible Internet connectivity options, and a centralized database. Fifty-three health workers from ninety-three clinics in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast will be able to travel to dense urban centers or remote villages, collect vital information using ReForm surveys running on the Palm devices, and transmit collected data to a secure Anyware database, where it will be immediately available as a basis for timely, targeted action. With mobile data collection and direct upload to the central database, Geneva Global anticipates collecting more data more quickly, accurately, and efficiently. With better, more timely data, Geneva Global’s health-provider partners can deliver care and prevention when and where it is needed. For health workers, ReForm surveys will provide an effective means for gathering important demographic data such as age, gender, family status, and living situation, as well as critical information relevant to health and behavioral interventions. Workers giving the Voluntary Counseling and Testing survey, for example, will quickly be able to determine when individuals need to be tested for HIV/AIDS, schedule testing, and, if results are positive, set up treatment protocols and behavioral counseling. Those conducting the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children survey will more readily be able to identify at-risk children in need of medical, nutritional, and social support. The Geneva Global team has worked with Anyware to develop four other surveys as well. Anyware is also helping Geneva Global overcome local challenges. In Ivory Coast, where Geneva Global expects to help 100,000 people, mobile infrastructure is widespread, and health workers will be able to upload completed survey data instantly to the central database. In Ethiopia, where more than 500,000 will receive prevention education or sustainable care, infrastructure is also up-to-date, but the political landscape is such that wireless coverage is sporadic at best. However, with the flexible connectivity of ReForm, health workers can also complete surveys in an unconnected state, storing responses on the mobile device until the workers can log on to a computer at a clinic, drop the device into a cradle-sync, and upload the data via dial-up modem. Anyware is also providing uncommon language support. For workers in Ivory Coast, ReForm surveys are written English and French. For those in Ethiopia, they are available in English and Oromiffa. In addition, Anyware has provided new and unique support for Amharic, Ethiopia’s official language, which utilizes a unique set of characters, similar to that of Arabic, representing spoken syllables. Because Amharic is not supported on mobile devices, Anyware has developed an HTML input for the devices that displays graphical images of questions in Amharic. The goal of this solution is to help local populations and care givers feel more at ease taking and giving the survey. Ultimately, mobile data collection in multiple languages will help local populations receive the care and preventive education they need. It will also help Geneva Global, its local partners, and PEPFAR gain better insight, evaluate changing conditions more rapidly, take effective action, and allocate precious resources to the people and nations most severely ravaged by the disease.
About Anyware Mobile Solutions
|